We are, by nature, I think, creatures of habit. I have heard it said that most of us will not change until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing. We are like the old dog the preacher encountered when he went to visit an elderly church member. As the two men tried to visit, the dog continually moaned and growled. The old man explained why . . . “The old dog is trying to sleep, but he’s lying on a nail. He hurts enough that he can’t sleep, but he doesn’t hurt enough to make him get up and move.”

Often we hurt enough to moan and growl about the way things are and never consider trying an attitude of thanksgiving to improve our lives. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” He believed it would make a positive difference in our lives.

Attitude is a choice. Victor Frank wrote: “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” You don’t just evolve into a thankful person, you choose to become one . . . One preacher wrote, “If your abilities are equal to those of other people and you are not sharing in equal success, then your attitudes are probably the difference. Since God created you with the freedom to choose your attitude, the choice determines much of what happens to you.”